and apparently he was banned by CAF in 2018 for alleged corruption. Why on earth would they then let him ref this match ?
That is not how I saw the game. The game was a bore-fest with zero shots on goal by Mali (despite being the side pressing high and with most of the possession) until the handball penalty they were awarded. Their handball penalty was probably justified, although much lees "intentional" than Tunisia's handball penalty (forced on the referee by VAR) which Tunisia failed to convert after having created 2-3 good chances. To be sure, while a "fairer score" to me would have been a draw, Mali would have won deservedly if the referee hadn't stopped the game 5-6 minutes earlier than he should have and the game had ended in Mali's favor. But its hard to say Mali deserved to win a game that wasn't allowed to properly finish.
At the first day, only 12 goals were scored, it's 1 goal a match. This mean is the weakest since there're 16 teams in the competition. It was worse during the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. Too many teams got calamitous warm-ups and preparations witn friendly matches cancelled due to this famous virus.
not a great start to the tournament with so many 1-0 games. The only game with more than a goal was Cameroon who were awarded 2 penalties. The heat and humidity are bad and I'm sure thats making a lot of these games lethargic. As has been mentioned also the poor preparations with some teams not even playing a single friendly match, and late arrival of players who came a week after they were mandated by FIFA, in an attempt for CAF to show good will to the clubs. Nigeria look easily the best side. Algeria created chances but failed to convert. Senegal and Ivory Coast in particular had plenty of counter attacks in which they were very sloppy in the final third. Lets hope for a better second round of matches.
I can see why Pepe is always on the bench for CIV. He is one selfish player. Zaha should be starting if he agrees to put in the hustle.
In Group A, hosts Cameroon are well placed to win their group, with Burkina Faso still a better bet than Cape Verde to finish 2nd. In Group B, although Senegal needed a last minute penalty to beat Zimbabwe, they too look set to win their group. I guess Guinea will finish runner-up and Zimbabwe in 3rd place. In Group C, Morocco also look perfectly placed to win their group, likely with maximum points. Ghana, despite their loss to Morocco, are likely to finish runner-up in Group C with Gabon ending up in 3rd place. In Group D, Nigeria can already be penciled as group winner, while Egypt is still very likely to finish above both Guinea-Bissou and Sudan. I don't expect either Guinea-Bissou or Sudan among the best 3rd place finishers either. In Group E, I don't think the picture is clear or settled. Algeria could still beat the Ivory Coast, while neither Sierra Leone nor Eq. Guinea look really poor. For me, this group is still pretty much wide open. Finally, in Group F, Mali are likely to win the group but the picture is still too fuzzy to be sure. Tunisia should be able to rebound from their loss to Mali (and that refereeing fiasco) and collect 3 points against Mauritania, Mali v Gambia? Not sure. The fate of this group could also be decided after M3.
Based on the above, the R16 match ups could be: Burkina Faso v Ghana Nigeria v 3rd place team in B/E/F (? -- maybe Tunisia/Gambia/Zimbabwe) Senegal v 3rd place team in A/C/D (? -- maybe Cape Verde) (?--Mali) v runner-up E (? -- Algeria, Ivory Coast or even ...) runner-up B (Guinea) v runner-up F (Tunisia/ Gambia) Cameroon v 3rd place team in C/D/E (? -- maybe Sierra Leone or Eq. Guinea) winner E (Ivory Coast/Algeria) v Egypt Morocco v 3rd place team in A/B/F (?--Zimbabwe/Tunisia ...)
Nigeria's odds to reach at least the semi-finals are very good. In fact after their performance against Egypt I expect them to so.
Based on my analysis, Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal and Nigeria are good bets to make the quarterfinals. Nigeria's path to the semifinal most likely requires them to get passed host Cameroon. While Nigeria are the better side than Cameroon, and quite impressive both defensively and offensively against Egypt, whether they will be able to get passed the hosts remains to be seen. After the Mali-Tunisia refereeing fiasco, I am hesitant to call games that can be very close and could turn on how the referee whistles the match. VAR notwithstanding.
The only way Nigeria would play hosts Cameroon in the quarterfinals is if Cameroon finishes runner-up and Nigeria tops their group.
I still find it too hard to call exactly. Once the last matches have been played, it will become clearer who looks ropey and maybe by Sunday we might know that. Been a weak tournament so far but I think it will become better after the group stages, nothing be there!
You are right: I misread the brackets. Looking at QF brackets again, Nigeria's likely opponent will (probably) be the winner of Burkina Faso v Ghana, which should give them an even better shot to make the semifinal.
Not much has changed how I perceive the teams. As for the surprise of the tournament it looks to me a race between Zimbabwe and Gambia now. Intetestingly both could face each other in the Round of 16 if they finish 2nd in their respective groups. I'm not surprised Gambia are within a shout. In fact I thought they are a better team than Mauritania. The reason I thought Gambia would finish bottom was that their preparation was affected by COVID and cancelled friendlies. Lack of AFCON experience also.
Albeit Sierra Leone draw Algeria I don't think they will play the role of the surprise team eventually. Equatorialguinea looked to me decent yesterday. I still favour them to finish ahead of Sierra Leone.
That Egypt result was huge. If we top our group, which is now highly likely (crossing fingers to avoid another Madagaacar situation) We play a 3rd place team in 2nd round and likely Burkina Faso/Ghana in quarters. I like our chances to make the semis.
apparently that ref in the Tunisia match had a heatstroke and went to the hospital after. I knew he didn't look right in the face. He looked dazed.
4 mins: 1-0 Ethiopia! Shit defending, great goal for the Walias! 8 mins : 1-1, here we go! Goals galore, maybe! 23 mins: Ethiopia miss a sitter! Still 1-1
Half-time: 1-1, could easily have been 3-3. Cameroon have dominated but Ethiopia have played well when they've had the ball. This one could go either way. Much more exciting play than we've seen so far.
Ethiopia have been surprisingly dangerous and a handful for Cameroon. If nothing else, the game has been entertaining and exciting.